ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. – When you go to the lengths to open up a new restaurant, you don’t expect within the first couple months of being open to be hit with record-setting snowfall that will test everything you know about the industry and provide challenges you’ve never had to deal with. But, that’s exactly where Arvi Sabherwal, owner of Toast – Indian Asian Fusion found himself when he took over the old Toast Tahoe building last November.

With nine years experience in the restaurant industry, Sabherwal’s background was primarily in I.T. But, when COVID hit, Sabherwal found himself working round the clock managing five teams and it all got to be too overwhelming.

Already an owner of a couple restaurants in the South Bay of San Francisco, Sabherwal wanted to move away from California, but not too far away from the golden state – and Tahoe provided the ideal place.

“We’re bringing the best selling Indian dishes from South Bay over here and presenting the best of what sells,” said Sabherwal. “Since the previous restaurant in this location was Japanese-American and had a built in clientele, we’re also keeping the favorites like lobster ravioli and burgers – that’s where the fusion comes in.”

To start, Sabherwal brought in about 40 new dishes along with some desserts, with the main focus being Indian cuisine. Items like Coconut Shrimp Curry, Tandori Chicken (only available on the weekends), along with staples like Butter Chicken and Tikka Masala have been consistently some of their best sellers.

“Some people that come in and try our food are blown away,” added Sabherwal. “We are not fast food, we are not just fry and serve. Everything is authentic and recipes are our own. There’s lots of love and labor involved.”

Part of that love is making sure people aren’t overwhelmed with heat. With each order prepared individually based on spice level, everything can be customized to someone’s sensitivities. Their goal is for the customer to be able to taste all the flavors with just the right amount of heat so it doesn’t kill your palette.

While the base of the menu consists of a combination of South Bay imports along with held over favorites, it doesn’t mean they aren’t changing it up. Every few weeks items drop off and new ones are added. Whether it’s Indian street food options or pizzas, there are items that you won’t find in their South Bay location. They are also putting a larger emphasis on bringing in wines from all over the world to the bar.

To help put the kitchen together and stay true to the Indian flavors, Sabherwal learned what many local restaurants have been dealing with: a challenging workforce. Because of that difficulty, Sabherwal decided to bring in his some of his staff from the South Bay to help execute the vision.

Sabherwal added, “We host our staff here and take care of them. We have a big staff in South Bay and they also like the change. Tahoe’s not a bad place to be. Love the view. Love the people. And the community has been awesome.”

To find out more information about Toast – Indian Asian Fusion you can visit them online at toast.llc or in person at 605 Hwy 50 in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.